Upwardly acting door assembly



May 21, 1963 1 STROUP ETAL UPWARDLY ACTING DOOR ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed April 12, 1957 Q W MZ W m dgw May 21, 1963 E. L. STROUP ETAL3,090,427

UPWARDLY ACTING DOOR ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 12, 1957///nflfl INVENTORS .Eor/ L kS/roup BY 00 JOHCJ United States Patent3,090,427 UPWARDLY ACTING DOOR ASSEMBLY Earl L. Stroup and Don P. Jones,Hartford City, Ind, assignors to Overhead Door Corporation, HartfordCity, Ind.

Filed Apr. 12, 1957, Ser. No. 652,566 Claims. (Cl. 16040) This inventionrelates to an upwardly acting door assembly provided with means forseating a door relative to jamb and sill seals. The main objects of thisinvention are:

First, to provide an upwardly acting door with jamb and sill seals whichare under substantial thrust engagement when the door is in closedposition, and at the same time the door is easily operated to land fromits fully closed position and without substantial frictional engagementwith the seals.

Second, to provide a sectional vertically acting door in which all ofthe sections are in thrust engagement with jarnb seals when the door isin closed position.

Third, to provide a door having the above stated ad vantages in whichthe means for automatically thrusting the door against the jarrrb sealsare adjustable to compensate for substantial variations in the seal anddoor parts and for such wear on or decreasing resilience of the sealmembers as may result firom use.

Fourth, to provide an upwardly acting door provided with a sill engagingseal and with means for c'lampingly locking the door and its sill sealto the sill.

Fifth, to provide an upwardly acting door structure having jamb and sillseals with locking means which clamps the sill seal against the sill,which clamping movement results in the final thrusting of the dooragainst the jamb seals and also preventing edgewise shifting orvibration, the lock means also constituting means for initiating theopening of the door and the retraction thereof from the jamb seals,whereby positioning the door for free opening movement.

Objects relating to details and economies of the invention will appearfrom the description to follow. The invention is defined and pointed outin the claims.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of an upwardly actingdoor on a line corresponding generally to line 11 of FIG. 5 with thedoor in closed position.

FIG. 2 is a similar view with the door in open position.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view partially in vertical sectioncorresponding to that of FIG. 1 with the door in partially openposition.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary View in vertical section on a linecorresponding to line 4-4 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view in horizontal section on a linecorresponding to line 5-5 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view in horizontal section on a linecorresponding to line 6-6 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view on a line corresponding to line 7-7 of FIG.1.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary outside elevational view of the bottom portionof the door with the sill engaging lock in fully retracted position, thesill being shown in vertical section.

FIG. 9 is a similar view with the lock in partially actuated position.

FIG. 10 is a view of these parts in fully closed and locked position.

The embodiment of our invention illustrated is well adapted for use invehicles of various types such as Patented May 21, 1963 trucks,trailers, railway cars and the like, where it is desirable to provideeffective sealing of the doors.

In the accompanying drawing 1 represents parts of a structure having adoor opening 2 therein, the struc ture having a bottom 3 provided with asill 4. These parts are conventionally illustrated as being formed ofmetal. Opposed support members 5 of channel section are fixedly mountedon the door frame desirably as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 by means ofrivets 6, although the parts may be spot welded if desired. The rivets,however, are preferred as it is sometimes desirable to disassemble theseparts. The door jambs 7 are provided with seals 8 which preferably haveportions 9 extending across the top of the door opening. These sealsillustrated are resilient and have collapsible tubular portions Inprovided with projecting longitudinal fins 11. The seals are carried bychanneled strips 12 which are clamped between the inwardly projectingflanges 13 of the support members 5 and the inturned edges 14 of thedoor frame, see FIGS. 5 and 6.

The vertical or upright track portions 15- are pivotally mounted at 16at the upper ends of these supports. The track sections 17 curvedlymerge with the upper ends of these sections 15. The door comprises aplurality of horizontally articulated sections 18 and 19, the bottomsection 19 being of the same structure as the other sections of thedoor, but is designated by a separate numeral because it is providedwith a sill engaging seal 20 on its lower edge.

The sections are hingedly connected, hinges being conventionally shownat 21. The sections are provided with track engaging rollers 22, thespindles 23 of which have offset shank portions 24- adjustablyengageable with the sockets 25, the upper section having track engagingrollers adjacent the upper edge thereof and the lower section trackengaging rollers adjacent the lower edge thereof.

The swinging of the upright track sections 15 on their pivots moves thedoor toward and from the jamb seals. In the embodiment illustrated, thedoor sections are forced against the jamb seals when the door is infully closed position. This results from the bottom rollers of the doorengaging the cams 26 which are pivotally mounted at 27 on the brackets28 mounted on the lower ends of the supports 5 which are cut away orrecessed at 29 to receive the brackets. The brackets are of generallyoutwardly facing channel section and have longitudinal slots 30 in thewebs thereof, see FIG. 3.

The cam abutments 31 are supported for vertical adjustment by the screws32 engaging these slots. Second cams 33 are provided and are adjustablymounted on the inner flanges of the support members 5 by means of thescrews 34 engaging slots 35. One of the intermediate door sections isprovided with brackets 36 having rollers 37 engageable with these camswhen the door is in closed position. The purpose of these second camsis'to insure that the intermediate portions of the door are in effectiveengagement with the jamb seals.

38 which are mounted on studs 39 on the supports with one arm thereofengaged [in openings 40 in the supports, and the other engaging studs 41on the track section disposed through the' slots 42 in the support, seeFIGS. 4 and 6.

The bottom door section is provided with a sill seal fixedly secured toits lower edge and adapted to thrustingly engage the sill 4 when thedoor is fully closed. To insure complete closing of the door and also tosecure it in closed position and lock it if desired, the sill isprovided with a keeper opening 44 positioned to receive the jaw 45 ofthe lock 46 which is pivoted at 47 on the bracket 48 mounted on thebottom door section. The pivot 47 for the lock 46 is disposed so thatthe jaw or keeper engaging portion 45 may be swung through the keeperopening as the door approaches its final closed position, as is shown inFIG. 9.

The lock is provided with a cammed nose-piece 49 which is spaced fromthe jaw portion 45 to provide a slot 50 receiving the sill at one edgeof the opening 44 therein when the lock is in fully closed position, asis shown in FIG. 10. The jaw 45 has a shoulder 51 on its inner edgewhich engages the edge of the opening 44 so that with the tip 52 and theshoulder 51 of the jaw engaging the underside of the sill and the cam 49engaging the upper side, substantially all movement of the door relativeto the sill is prevented. The cam 49 of the lock also serves as acamrning leverage means for moving the door from its closed position,see FIG. 9.

This is sometimes important to break ice which may form on the sill.This initial opening movement of the door also releases the jamb sealsso that the door can be easily opened, and without any frictional wearon the seals.

The hand-piece 53 of the lock is pivoted at 54 and provided with a slot55 engageable over the hasp 56 which has an opening 57 therein adaptedto receive a padlock. The upwardly projecting lug 58 on the locksupporting bracket engages the lock at the inner side of the pivotedhand-piece thereof. This securely supports the lock in its lockedposition. When the lock is swung to retracted position, it is engagedbehind the lug 59 as is shown in FIG. 8. This prevents the outwardswinging of the pivoted grip portion of the lock and minimizes thelikelihood of its being engaged by some exterior object. With the partsthus arranged, the door is effectively sealed when in its closedposition and at the same time the only parts that require manualoperation other than the raising and lowering of the door is themanipulation of the lock member which is effective in drawing the doorto its finally closed lockable position and providing a levering meansfor breaking the seal.

The inner portions of the upright track members are cut away or recessedat 60 and the inner flanges thereof are provided with rearwardly facingoffsets 61 which constitute cams with which the lower rollers engage asthe door approaches its fully closed position, thereby further insuringthe forcing of the door sections against the jamb sills, and this hasthe reverse effect on the initial opening movement of the door ofreleasing the pressure on the jamb seals. Further the keeper slot andthe jaw 45 are positioned so that 'edgewise movement of the door isprevented thus minimizing wear on the door seals. This is of particularimportance when the door is installed in a vehicle.

The lock pivot 47 is mounted on the block 62 in an off-center relationthereto so that by selectively positioning the block of the hole 63 inthe lock 46, the relation of the pivot to the bottom of the door may bevaried.

We have illustrated and described our invention in a highly practicalembodiment thereof. We have not attempted to illustrate or describedvarious possible modifications and adaptations which might be desirablefor particular installations or adaptations to particular structuralparts, as it is believed that this disclosure will enable those skilledin the art to embody or adapt our invention as may be desired.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is: i

l. A vertically acting door assembly comprising frame members providedwith inwardly facing jamb seals, a door comprising a plurality ofhorizontally articulated sections, track support members mounted on saiddoor frame members in spaced relation to the jamb seals thereof, trackscomprising upright sections swingably mounted at their upper ends onsaid track support members, said door sections being provided withrollers coacting with said track including rollers disposed adjacent thelower edge of the bottom door section, said track supports and uprighttrack sections having rearwardly facing recesses at their lower ends,thrust member brackets of outwardly facing channel section mounted onthe lower ends of said support members at the rear of the recessed endsof said track sections, downwardly and forwardly inclined thrust memberspivotally mounted on said brackets rearwardly of said recessed ends ofsaid track sections, said brackets having vertical slots in the websthereof, abutments for said thrust members provided with supportingbolts adjustably engaging said slots in said brackets, and springsacting to bias said track sections rearwardly.

2. A vertically acting door assembly comprising side frame membersprovided with inwardly facing jamb seals, a door comprising a pluralityof horizontally articulated sections, tracks comprising upright sectionsof channel section swingably mounted at their upper ends, said doorsections being provided with rollers coacting with said tracks, saidtrack sections having rearwardly facing re-, cesses at their lower ends,thrust member brackets of outwardly facing channel section fixedlymounted in opposed relation to the lower ends of said track sections,downwardly and forwardly inclined thrust members pivotally mounted onsaid brackets rearwardly of said recessed ends of said track sections,said brackets having vertical slots in the webs thereof, abutments forsaid thrust members provided with supporting bolts adjustably engagingsaid slots in said brackets, and springs acting to bias said tracksections rearwardly.

3. A vertically acting door assembly comprising side frame membersprovided with inwardly facing jamb seals, a door comprising a pluralityof horizontally articulated sections, tracks comprising upright sectionsof channel section swingably mounted at their upper ends, said doorsections being provided with rollers coacting with said tracks, thrustmember brackets fixedly mounted in opposed relation to the lower ends ofsaid track sections, downwardly and forwardly inclined thrust memberspivotally mounted on said brackets, said brackets having adjustableabutments for said thrust members.

4. A vertically acting door assembly comprising side frame membersprovided with inwardly facing jamb seals, a door comprising a pluralityof horizontally articulated sections, tracks comprising upright sectionsof channel section swingably mounted at their upper ends, said doorsections being provided with rollers coacting with said tracks, thrustmember brackets fixedly mounted in opposed relation to the lower ends ofsaid track sections, downwardly and forwardly inclined thrust memberspivotally mounted on said brackets, said brackets having adjustableabntments for said thrust members, and relatively fixed forwardly facingcams disposed in opposed relation to an intermediate door section whenthe door is in closed position, such intermediate door section beingprovided with rollers engageable with said cams as the door approachesclosed position and coacting with said thrust members to urge the dooragainst the jamb seals when in its closed position.

5. A vertically acting door assembly comprising a door frame and a sillprovided with a keeper, a door having a sill engaging seal on the bottomedge thereof, tracks, said door being provided with rollers coactingwith said tracks, a lock member mounting bracket mounted on said dooradjacent the lower edge thereof, a lock anember pivotally mounted onsaid bracket and provided with a pivoted grip piece having a haspopening therein, said lock member having a sill engaging member and akeeper engaging element spaced therefrom and engageable with said keeperwhen the lock member is adjusted to locking position to clampingly holdsaid seal in thrust engagement with said sill and coacting with saidkeeper to prevent lateral shifting of the door relative to the sill,said sill engaging member coasting to lift the door from its fullyclosed position when the lock member is swung to unlocked position andthereby lifting the door from the sill, said mounting bracket having asupporting lug behind which the lock member is disposed When in lockedposition to support the lock member at the side of its pivoted gripportion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D.175,684 Kellogg et al Sept. 27, 1955 6 0g Jan. 26, 1892 Grosh July 12,1892 Ramsey et a1 June 6, 1916 Higgin Sept. 12, 1916 Dob-son Oct. 2,1923 Dodge Nov. 4, .1924 OConnor Dec. 22, 1925 Kelly Feb. 14, 1933Wheatley June 23, 1936 Bagley et a1 Aug. 31, 1937 Bag1ey et al. July 26,1938 Bentley Oct. 13, 1953 Stroup Mar. 18, 1958

1. A VERTICALLY ACTING DOOR ASSEMBLY COMPRISING FRAME MEMBERS PROVIDEDWITH INWARDLY FACING JAMB SEALS, A DOOR COMPRISING A PLURALITY OFHORIZONTALLY ARTICULTED SECTIONS, TRACK SUPPORT MEMBERS MOUNTED ON SAIDDOOR FRAME MEMBERS IN SPACED RELATION TO THE JAMB SEALS THEREOF, TRACKSCOMPRISING UPRIGHT SECTIONS SWINGABLY MOUNTED AT THEIR UPPER ENDS ONSAID TRACK SUPPORT MEMBERS, SAID DOOR SECTIONS BEING PROVIDED WITHROLLERS COACTING WITH SAID TRACK INCLUDING ROLLERS DISPOSED ADJACENT THELOWER EDGE OF THE BOTTOM DOOR SECTION, SAID TRACK SUPPORTS AND UPRIGHTTRACK SECTIONS HAVING REARWARDLY FACING RECESSES AT THEIR LOWER ENDS,THRUST MEMBER BRACKETS OF OUTWARDLY FACING CHANNEL SECTION MOUNTED ONTHE LOWER ENDS OF SAID SUPPORT MEMBERS AT THE REAR OF THE RECESSED ENDSOF SAID TRACK SECTIONS, DOWNWARDLY AND FORWARDLY INCLINED THRUST MEMBERPIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID BRACKETS REARWARDLY OF SAID RECESSED ENDS OFSAID TRACK SECTIONS, SAID BRACKETS HAVING VERTICAL SLOTS IN THE WEBSTHEREOF, ABUTMENTS FOR SAID THRUST MEMBERS PROVIDED WITH SUPPORTINGBOLTS ADJUSTABLY ENGAGING SAID SLOTS IN SAID BRACKETS, AND SPRINGSACTING TO BIAS SAID TRACK SECTIONS REARWARDLY.